Morning Mania

Julia was REALLY excited about her outfit this morning.  So excited, in fact, that she demanded I not look while she was getting dressed, since she wanted to surprise me with the full ensemble.  Not looking was a *little* tricky, however, as Julia needed help both with buttoning her jeans as well as buttoning up her shirt. 

JULIA: Mom!  You're not allowed to LOOK at me!
ME: Okay, I'm trying.  I'm only looking at the buttons.  I won't look at the rest of you yet.


Once the finishing touches were put on her outfit, Julia was finally ready to show off her get-up.

JULIA: But Mom?  Do I look TOO MUCH like a rock star?

What do you all think?:

Julia the Rock Star!



As we walked to school, Julia suffered the consequences of her choice to wear silver dress flats that are about a half size too big.  For every few galloped steps, she would have to stop and fit her heel back into her shoes. 

ME: Are you okay, Jules?
JULIA: Yes.
ME: I keep seeing you start to gallop, then stop.
JULIA: My shoe keeps getting messed up!
ME: Oh, I see.
JULIA: But Mom.  Did you know that when I'm feeling really HAPPY, I like to gallop?

Wait.  A.  Minute.  Julia likes to gallop when she's happy??  I had NO idea!

JULIA: And Mom, sometimes when I'm lying in bed at night and I'm feeling really HAPPY, I just want to SPRING out of bed and start GALLOPING around.

Is that why she stinks at falling asleep at a reasonable hour?

Since the galloping was continually forcing her shoe off of her heel this morning, I suggested that Julia just resort to walking instead, but I guess she was just feeling TOO happy, because she simply couldn't keep herself from galloping.

Gallop, gallop, fix shoe.  Gallop, gallop, fix shoe.  Gallop, gallop, fix shoe. 

We finally arrived at school, and since today is town-wide Walk to School Day, Julia received a school bracelet as a reward for her commute on foot.  (In our case, every day is Walk to School Day, but Julia is all for taking a free piece of plastic whenever it's offered.)  She was so thrilled over the reward that she completely spaced out on taking her backpack with her as she headed towards the school doors, so I had the delight of running after her, backpack in hand, calling her name over and over until she finally clued in.  Backpack securely on her back, Julia resumed her gallop towards the front doors.  Gallop, gallop, fix shoe.  Gallop, gallop, fix shoe.

Now let's just hope that her jammin' rock star looks aren't too distracting for the rest of the class today!

Halloween Talk

This morning, Julia had Halloween on the brain, as she sat at the table with her milk and chattered away at me.

JULIA: Mom?  Did you know that even though it was raining all day yesterday, I actually APPRECIATED the weather, because it made things feel more SPOOKY?  Like, it just felt really dark and spooky outside while I was upstairs watching a Halloween Lizzy McGuire in Madeleine's room.
ME: Oh, good, I'm glad you didn't mind the rain.  It DID seem kind of spooky with all the dark clouds.
JULIA: And Mom?  Why do you think it is that when I watch things like "Harry Potter," I feel like they're doing REAL spells, but when it's things like "Dora," it seems like the spells are NOT really real?
ME: I don't know.
JULIA: Maybe it's because it's, like, REAL people doing spells instead of, like, CARTOONS.
ME: Yeah, maybe you're right.
JULIA: But Mom?  What OTHER reasons can you think of for why they seem like real spells?
ME: Uh, I think it's like you said.  When you see real people acting the roles, it seems more realistic than in cartoons.
JULIA: But Mom.  Are there any OTHER reasons you can think of?
ME: Um...maybe because the words to the spells in things like "Harry Potter" sound more authentic?
JULIA: (in total agreement) Yeah!  Mom!  Because, like, when it's not very real, they're just, like, "Abracadabra, alakazam, turn this zebra...into a PAN!" and stuff like that.  That doesn't sound very REAL.

I've got a little secret for you, Julia.  NONE OF IT IS REAL.  "Expecto Patronum!" is just as fabricated as "Abracadabra."  But I guess Daniel Radcliffe REALLY sells it when he casts a spell, as opposed to the girl who voices Dora the Explorer.

Julia was still in the Halloween spirit as we set off in the cloudy drizzle for school this morning.  Turning back to face me as she skipped along the sidewalk, she announced, "Mom?  I appreciate THIS weather, too!"

I'm so glad she's able to make lemonade out of the weather lemons, even as we're walking through muggy, drizzly grossness.

On my walk back with Madeleine, after we had dropped Julia at school, the subject changed.

MADELEINE: Mommy?  When are we going to see Yiayia again?
ME: Well, probably this coming weekend.
MADELEINE: But why?
ME: Because, I'm running in a race that's in Connecticut, so we'll probably get to see Yiayia.
MADELEINE: Well Mama.  Am I gonna WIN the race?
ME: Uh...
MADELEINE: So Mama.  Can you just get super TIRED?  So that I can win?  Because you're ALWAYS getting tired every day.


I can say it's very likely I'll be getting tired during the race.  We'll just side-step the whole issue of Madeleine not actually being eligible to run it.


And in other Madeleine news, although she had a great time at her birthday party, she is certainly taking no pleasure in the thank-you card process.  We made it through three cards today, before deciding to take a break until tomorrow.


Card #1: Madeleine, grumpy about having to sign her own name, announced: "M, A, and here's an ANGRY D!" before making a giant, balloning D in the middle of the card.


Card #2: Madeleine's response, when I asked her what she particularly liked about a certain part of a gift: "Well, it's not really very INTERESTING."


Card #3: Upon being asked to sign her name, Madeleine heaved a big, irritated sigh, and complained, "Ugh!  Why do I have to do it AGAIN?  I already did it TWO TIMES!"

Life's tough, man.  I think maybe we'll try a few cards a day...and maybe it will be Mommy's job to write about what's exciting about the presents, rather than including Madeleine's own opinion!

Julia's Thoughts

Julia may be an anxious kid in a lot of ways, but she certainly doesn't lack for self-confidence.  This morning, she sang her own praises on multiple matters. 

After being praised for some generic thing - so generic that I can't even remember the subject matter - Julia had a ready response.

ME: Good job, you smart girl.  How did you get so smart?
JULIA: Well, Mom, I thought I was just already BORN smart!

She then proceeded to demonstrate her astoundingly keen brain-power by knocking her full cup of milk all over the table and dining room rug while pretending to be a ghost, hiding under a blanket, and shouting "BOO!" at Madeleine.


Later in the morning, Julia was securely able to respond to the following compliment on her church get-up: "You look so beautiful!  Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are??" with an assured, "Um, EVERYONE!"


Even though Julia is unequivocally sure of her own awesomeness, she is by no means self-involved.  On the contrary, as we drove home from church through Harvard Square this afternoon, Julia's concerns were primarily on the bikers weaving in and out of the car traffic.

JULIA: Mom?  I just don't GET IT why so many grown-ups think they don't have to wear a HELMET when they're riding their bikes!
ME: I know.  It's really not safe.
JULIA: But Mom.  Why DO you think more grown-ups DON'T wear a helmet?
ME: Well, I'm not sure.  But look, there's a grown-up biker with a helmet on.
JULIA: Yeah.  But I see WAY MORE grown-ups without helmets.  I just don't get it.  Like, don't they understand that even if God is protecting you, you can STILL have an accident or get hit by someone else!
ME: I know.  You're right.  It's like wearing a seatbelt in the car.  You might think you're a good enough driver that you won't have an accident, but you never know what other bad drivers might do.  So it's better safe than sorry!
JULIA: Well, Mom, I just really WISH other bikers would wear their helmets.  It's just something I really wish could happen.  I know it's not, like, what grown-ups want to do, but I just really WISH they would all have helmets.
ME: Me too.
JULIA: And besides, I even see a lot of bikers who don't even BRING their helmets along with their bikes!  I mean, I know it wouldn't be easy to PUT ON your helmet if you saw a car about to crash into you, but at least if you bring it, you MIGHT be able to get it on in time.

Wow.  I had no idea Julia was so concerned about her fellow bikers.  She has really put a lot of thought into this.  And here I thought she was primarily concerned with her OWN safety while out riding her bike.  I had no idea how concerned she was for all the OTHER bikers out there.

It turns out bikers without helmets are not the only recipients of Julia's concern.

JULIA: And Mom.  You know what the OTHER thing I wish was?  I wish that people wouldn't TEXT while they're driving!  Like, I think it's fine if you talk on the PHONE while you're driving, but I really WISH people wouldn't TEXT!
ME: Me too.  Did you know that it's actually against the law to text while you're driving?
JULIA: Well, I saw someone on the HIGHWAY texting while she was driving, and I just think it's not really SAFE, and I just WISH that people wouldn't do that.  Because, like, how can you pay attention to the ROAD when you're typing on your phone?
ME: You're right.  It's really unsafe.

Can we elect this kid for Congress?  She seems WAY more invested in what's good and safe for the people than our current congressional members do!

Birthday Party Mania!

Madeleine's week of birthday fun culminated today, as we threw her a party at the playroom of the YMCA.  Madeleine herself, unaccustomed to being the center of attention so frequently, couldn't even seem to believe that she had yet another special birthday celebration in store.

ME: (upon waking up in the morning) Madeleine!  Today's your birthday party!
MADELEINE: (wide-eyed, mouth agape, staring at me) Mine?!?
ME: Yes! 
MADELEINE: (waving clenched fists through the air in barely-suppressed excitement) Yaaaaaaaaaay!

The birthday girl had a blast at her party, which began with free play in the gym, followed by organized games of all sorts.  The games began with an obstacle course, then proceeded to a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose."  Next on the agenda was "Fishy, Fishy, Cross My Ocean," which, upon Madeleine's insistence, was changed to "Fishy, Fishy, Duck Cross My Ocean."  Before long, all of the kids were begging to be ducks rather than fishies, so I guess Madeleine's idea was a big hit.

 Crab-walking during the obstacle course

 Duck, Duck Goose



Next, the kids got to move into the dance studio for a dance party and a game of musical chairs.  Our buddy Quinn was nearly the first one to miss out on a chair during the game, but luckily, his big sister Jovina kindly gave up her chair for him.  When a similar situation took place a few rounds later between Julia and Madeleine, both vying for the last chair, did Julia follow suit and self-sacrifice for the birthday girl?  Nope!  Julia barrelled her way onto that chair with no regrets, securing herself another round in the game.

 Line dancing!

Freeze Dance


The party finished up with cupcakes and the singing of "Happy Birthday" for Madeleine, who really needed to poop and therefore didn't have room in her tummy to actually eat her cupcake.  Thankfully, the rest of her guests devoured theirs, so they were able to end the celebration on a sugar high. 

Now, even though Madeleine didn't actually have room in her tummy for her cupcake, and occupied our bathroom for a good 30 minutes or so after returning home from the party, she summed up the party experience thusly:

ME: So, Madeleine, how was your party??
MADELEINE: (jubilantly) Delicious!!

I guess that means it was a success!

Little Artists

Julia's School-to-Home folder was filled with math worksheets today, as well as a picture she had drawn at school.  This picture was a double-sided Halloween poetry EXTRAVAGANZA!

Side 1:

 Whooh!
"Warewolves in the wodd's screeming littel kids wichis fliy hige case its Halloween boo!"

Julia informed me that the girl in this picture is NOT Ginny Weasley.  She's just another girl who is dressing UP as Ginny Weasley for Halloween.  Julia did not specify what the brown hot dog with penguin wings and a penis-snout with cherry on top is supposed to be, but given the context of the poem, I'm guessing it's the warewolf in the wodd's.


Side 2:

The Gost
"The only gost that live is the most tarifiing of all boo!"

That really is a tarifiing gost.  His wide open mouth makes me feel like he's about to suck my soul out.  Boo!


Meanwhile, Madeleine did some artwork of her own, engaging in a Color-by-Number activity in her coloring book while I lay indisposed on the couch with a migraine.  Since she can't read, she wasn't able to identify the correct colors on her own, but I came up with a way to help her out without needing to get off the couch - or even open my eyes.


MADELEINE: Mama!  What color is the number ONE?
ME: Find the number one down at the bottom of the page and tell me what letters come after it.
MADELEINE: Uh...Mama!  HERE'S one!
ME: Okay.  What letters are after it?
MADELEINE: It says: "r-e-b!"

That sneaky lower-case "d," looking so similar to a lower-case "b."

ME: Okay, so color all the ones red.

(Several minutes of restful silence while she was busy coloring reb.)


MADELEINE: Okay, Mama, what color is the number TWO?
ME: What letters do you see?
MADELEINE: Uh..."y, e, ELEVEN, o, w."

Ah, yes.  Ye11ow.  A most splendid color.

ME: Okay color the twos yellow, honey.

(Several more minutes of rest for me while she colored)

And so on.

And finally, I will end today's post with yet another of Madeleine's totally random observations about the world.  As we headed off to school, Madeleine suddenly brightly commented, in regards to her teacher, "Hey Mama!  Mrs. Gallello looks just like DADDY!"


I would love to spend a day inside that kid's head.

Happy Birthday, Madeleine!

I can't believe my baby girl is another year older! 

Madeleine celebrated the big zero-four in style today, starting off with a home-made pancake breakfast:

As well as gifts:

(The play-glasses are from Ethan, who is sick of Madeleine pulling off his own REAL glasses in order to play around with them.)


In the afternoon after we picked Julia up from school, we took a birthday trip to the apple orchard for some apple picking and play time!:

We finished off with dinner at the restaurant of Madeleine's choice, complete with a complementary ice cream for dessert!:

Despite her ability to count, however, Madeleine seems unable to accept the fact she is, in fact, turning a year older.  I totally get it.  Heck, I would have SO loved to turn thirty-three rather than thirty-five on my last birthday.  However, when I was a kid, I was always excited to grow OLDER.  Madeleine has the opposite reaction.  Our conversations about her coming age began as far as a few weeks back.

ME: Madeleine, do you know how old you'll be on your birthday?
MADELEINE: Yes.  TWO!
ME: No, silly.  You're not turning two!  You already WERE two.  Now you're three.  So how old will you be on your next birthday?
MADELEINE: TWO!
ME: No, not two.  How old will you be?  Will you be five?
MADELEINE: No!  I'm gonna be TWO!
ME: Madeleine, it's actually important that you know how old you really are.  Your teachers AND your doctor will want to know that you understand this.  Do you really think you're turning two?  Can you tell me how old you'll be on your birthday?
MADELEINE: (in a shy whisper) Four.
ME: Okay, just as long as you know for real.

THEN, a few days after that, we had another discussion about her birthday.

ME: So Madeleine, today I bought the frosting and the sprinkles for your birthday cupcakes, AND I bought a number four candle!
MADELEINE: Uh, but Mama.  I want a number TWO candle.
ME: Well, honey, you're turning four, so that's the number we're going to use for your candle.
MADELEINE: Well Mama.  PLEASE can I have a number TWO candle?
ME: Honey.  We don't want to make things confusing for all your friends at your party.  They need to understand how number work, too.  They need to realize that four comes AFTER three.  So the kids at your party who are three will understand that on THEIR next birthday, they'll be four.  And they need to see the number four on your candle, not TWO, so that they understand what a four looks like.
MADELEINE: Well Mama.  I have an idea!  I'll just BRING the four candle and SHOW it to them, and then we can put the number TWO candle on my cupcake!

Argh.

THEN, as if that wasn't confusing enough, yesterday at school while Madeleine's pumpkin muffins were handed out at snack, the teachers let her blow out a candle in the shape of a number four.  Therefore, Madeleine became convinced that she had actually turned four a day early.

MADELEINE: (after school) Mama!  I'm FOUR now!
ME: Tomorrow.  Your real birthday is tomorrow.
MADELEINE: No, Mama, I'm four TODAY!
ME: No, honey.  Tomorrow is your real birthday.
MADELEINE: But Mama.  I blowed out a number FOUR candle.  So now I'm FOUR!

Regardless, she was back on her two-year-old kick today.  All day long she insisted that she had, indeed, turned two.

ME: Happy birthday, my big four-year-old girl!
MADELEINE: Uh, Mama, did you mean "my LITTLE TWO-YEAR-OLD girl??"

Sheesh.  No wonder two was the number of choice during our math guessing game the other day. 

So, I guess I have no choice but to end this post with the following message: HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, MADELEINE!!!

Pumpkins!

Julia had her first school field trip ever yesterday, and man, was she excited.  SO excited, in fact, that she felt that the rest of the house needed to be up and at 'em at the crack of dawn in order to join her in excited solidarity.

JULIA: (bouncing on my bed at 6:30am) Mommy, Mommy!  Get up, get up!  It's my school FIELD TRIP today!  Get up, get up!  We don't want to be LATE!

This field trip was a particularly exciting one for Julia, since her class was going to Ward's Berry Farm in Sharon in order to explore the harvest and - best part, of course - pick pumpkins!!  It's about time!  Julia has only been on an autumn/Halloween kick since July, after all.  The class was also going to take a hayride around the farm, as well as sample apples from the orchards, so Julia was truly in fall-lovers paradise.

I myself was excited to hear all about the trip when I picked Julia up from school, so as we walked home, I had her fill me in.  She not only included the farm aspects of the trip, but the details of the bus rides there and back as well.

JULIA: So Mom.  On the bus ride back to school, Yasmine and I were, like, the only ones who were DEEP in CONVERSATION.  We just couldn't stop TALKING about trying to fix her pumpkin, because it got a CRACK in it, so we were making up this game called "Pumpkin goes to the hospital" and I was the Mommy Pumpkin and we kept using WET WIPES to try and cover the crack.  And, like, everyone else was just kind of, like, sitting QUIETLY and, like, ENJOYING the breeze from having the windows open a little bit, and I said to Yasmine, "Wow, we're really DEEP in conversation right now!"

Julia being a chatterbox?  What?  Unheard of!

I had to get my own pumpkin last night, as I gear up for a week of baking for various events.  When I returned home with pumpkin in hand, I found a very excited Julia waiting to take a look at my goods. 

JULIA: Mommy?  What KIND of pumpkin did you get?
ME: I got a sugar pumpkin.
JULIA: Hey!  Mom!  At the farm today, I picked out a sugar pumpkin too!
ME: Cool!  Sugar pumpkins are good for baking.
JULIA: But...I don't really want to EAT mine.  I want to put it on our stoop!
ME: That's fine.  You don't have to eat it.
JULIA: But Mom?  How do you KNOW that yours is a sugar pumpkin?
ME: Well, first of all, this is what sugar pumpkins look like.  But also, there was a big sign that said: "Sugar Pumpkins.  Great for eating."
JULIA: But how do you really KNOW it's a sugar pumpkin?
ME: I just told you.  How do you know YOURS was a sugar pumpkin?  Wasn't there a sign?
JULIA: There was no sign.  I just know it's a sugar pumpkin because, like, all my friends were TELLING me that's what it was.

I like how Julia is skeptical of my authority over whether or not the pumpkin I had purchased was indeed a sugar pumpkin, yet she takes the statements of other first graders as unquestionable fact.

At any rate, the picking of the pumpkin was clearly a highlight of the field trip for Julia, as you can see from her classwork report on the farm adventure:

I'm right there with her.  I would have been super excited if I had pike't a pumpkin too.

Meanwhile, Madeleine has plenty to be excited about as well, and her excitement is also kind of related to pumpkins.  I set about my first of many baking tasks yesterday as I prepared pumpkin muffins to bring to Madeleine's school today.  Since her real birthday is on Wednesday, and she doesn't actually go to school on Wednesdays, we brought in some birthday muffins to her class today.  Last night, I explained this to Madeleine, then told her that we'd do something fun on her real birthday as well, and THEN celebrate again over the weekend at her birthday party, and she could hardly handle the excitement.

MADELEINE: (yelling) I'M SO HAPPY, I COULD JUST...FALL DOWN ON THE FLOOR AND LAUGH!

So I guess I'll know what happened if, when I pick Madeleine up from school today, I find her fallen down on the floor.